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Jon Batiste has won album of the year for We Are at the Grammy Awards, giving him five trophies on a night that saw the 70s funk of Silk Sonic take both record and song of the year and newcomer Olivia Rodrigo claim three awards.

Batiste honoured the artists he beat. "The creative arts are subjective," he said during Sunday night's show. "Be you."

The multi-genre performer also won for his song Cry, the video for Freedom and his work with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the soundtrack for Soul.

"I just put my head down and I work on the craft every day. I love music," he said.

R&B supergroup Silk Sonic took home four awards, including record of the year. Olivia Rodrigo collected three trophies, including the coveted best new artist honour.

The night's festivities grew grim when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the gathering with an update on the war and his numbers included children injured and killed. "Our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos," he said.

"We are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs. The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music."

He ended by saying: "Tell the truth about the war on your social networks, on TV. Support us in any way you can any, but not silence. And then peace will come to all our cities."

John Legend then performed Free with Ukrainian exiles including singer-actress Mika Newton and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk.

Rodrigo's win for best new artist putting her in esteemed company including Carly Simon, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Tom Jones, the Beatles and Billie Eilish.

A veteran of the High School Musical series, Rodrigo became the breakout music star of 2021, leading with her massive viral hit Drivers License and following with the single Good 4 U and the aching album Sour, which took best pop vocal album.

"This is my biggest dream come true," she said after her best new artist win. She thanked her parents for supporting her dreams, which at one point involved being an Olympic gymnast and quickly veered toward music.

Silk Sonic -- the all-star union of Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak -- opened the Grammys in Las Vegas with their high-energy, infectious fix of retro soul and funk by performing their 777. They returned to the stage a short time later to collect the song of the year trophy for Leave the Door Open.

The win helps Mars tie the record for most song of the year wins. He had previously won for 24K Magic.

By the time the televised show started, Jon Batiste has already taken home four Grammy Awards, including his first ever.

Batiste won for best American roots performance, best American roots song, best music video and tied with Carlos Rafael Rivera for best score soundtrack for visual media.

His song Freedom in the music video category beat out several other tough competitors, including Rodrigo, Lil Nas X and Eilish. All the awards were handed out during a pre-telecast ceremony.

Batiste entered the Grammys as the leading nominee with 11 nominations.

The Foo Fighters won three awards, but were not in attendance to pick up their trophies following the recent death of its drummer Taylor Hawkins.

An extended tribute to Hawkins played before the show's In Memoriam segment honouring artists and music industry figures who have died.

Eilish paid homage to Hawkins during her performance by sporting a black T-shirt with his image. She stepped onstage in an upside-down house along with her brother Finneas before stepping into the rain to perform the title track from her Happier Than Ever.

TJ Osborne, who came out as gay last year, fought back tears as he and his brother accepted a Grammy for the Brothers Osborne song Younger Me. He noted the song was inspired by his coming out.

The ceremony shifted from Los Angeles to Las Vegas because of rising COVID-19 cases and the omicron variant in January, with organisers citing "too many risks" to hosting the performance-filled show at the time.

Tony Bennett extended his record as the artist with the most traditional pop vocal album with 14 wins with Love for Sale, a duet album with Lady Gaga.

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The latest Newspoll suggests the coalition is closing the gap, with support for Labor slipping slightly in the wake of the federal budget but still strong enough to indicate an opposition victory with an election expected to be called within days.

The poll, conducted for The Australian, shows 38 per cent would vote for Labor to form the next government - a fall of three points - with the coalition improving a point to 36 per cent.

The findings mean the contest has tightened to just two points from a six-point margin three weeks ago.

The Greens picked up two points to 10 per cent, while Pauline Hanson's One Nation and the United Australia Party remain unchanged on three per cent.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg handed down a handful of short-term cost-of-living savings to voters in Tuesday's budget, which Labor described as a clear attempt to buy votes ahead of the election, which is expected to be called within a matter of days for May 14.

Labor retains a clear lead in the two-party preferred polling, where despite the coalition tightening the gap by a point the opposition remains eight percentage points ahead at 54-46.

That represents a 5.5 swing on 2019's federal election and suggests a comfortable victory for Labor.

Asked who would be a better prime minister, the poll of 1531 voters sided narrowly with Scott Morrison, who improved by a point to 43 per cent.

Over a period when both leaders have come under attack over alleged bullying behaviour within their own party, Anthony Albanese was unchanged on 42 per cent.

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Nominations for the 64th Grammy Awards, the highest honours in the music industry, which will take place at a live ceremony in Las Vegas.

Below is a list of nominations in key categories for the awards, which will take place on Sunday evening local time (from 10am Monday AEST).

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

* We Are - Jon Batiste

* Love For Sale - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

* Justice - Justin Bieber

* Planet Her - Doja Cat

* Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish

* Back Of My Mind - H.E.R.

* Montero - Lil Nas X

* Sour - Olivia Rodrigo

* Evermore - Taylor Swift

* Donda - Kanye West

RECORD OF THE YEAR

* I Still Have Faith In You - ABBA

* Freedom - Jon Batiste

* I Get A Kick Out Of You - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

* Peaches - Justin Bieber Featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon

* Right On Time - Brandi Carlile

* Kiss Me More - Doja Cat Featuring SZA

* Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish

* Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X

* Drivers License - Olivia Rodrigo

* Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic

SONG OF THE YEAR

* Bad Habits - Ed Sheeran

* A Beautiful Noise - Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile

* Drivers License - Olivia Rodrigo

* Fight For You - H.E.R.

* Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish

* Kiss Me More - Doja Cat Featuring SZA

* Leave The Door Open - Silk Sonic

* Montero (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X

* Peaches - Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon

* Right On Time - Brandi Carlile

BEST NEW ARTIST

* Arooj Aftab

* Jimmie Allen

* Baby Keem

* Finneas

* Glass Animals

* Japanese Breakfast

* The Kid Laroi

* Arlo Parks

* Olivia Rodrigo

* Saweetie

BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE

* I Get A Kick Out Of You - Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga

* Lonely - Justin Bieber & Benny Blanco

* Butter - BTS

* Higher Power - Coldplay

* Kiss Me More - Doja Cat Featuring SZA

BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM

* Justice - Justin Bieber

* Planet Her - Doja Cat

* Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish

* Positions - Ariana Grande

* Sour - Olivia Rodrigo

BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE

* Shot In The Dark - AC/DC

* Know You Better (Live From Capitol Studio A) - Black Pumas

* Nothing Compares 2 U - Chris Cornell

* Ohms - Deftones

* Making A Fire - Foo Fighters

BEST RAP PERFORMANCE

* Family Ties - Baby Keem Featuring Kendrick Lamar

* Up - Cardi B

* My Life - J. Cole Featuring 21 Savage & Morray

* Way 2 Sexy - Drake Featuring Future & Young Thug

* Thot S*** - Megan Thee Stallion

BEST COUNTRY ALBUM

* Forever After All - Luke Combs

* Remember Her Name - Mickey Guyton

* All I Do Is Drive - Jason Isbell

* Camera Roll - Kacey Musgraves

* You Should Probably Leave - Chris Stapleton

BEST MUSIC FILM

* Inside - Bo Burnham

* David Byrne's American Utopia - David Byrne

* Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles - Billie Eilish

* Music, Money, Madness ... Jimi Hendrix In Maui - Jimi Hendrix

* Summer Of Soul - Various Artists

As well as AC/DC and The Kid Laroi, Australians have been nominated in the following categories:

* Progressive R&B Album: Mood Valiant - Hiatus Kaiyote

* Dance/Electronic Recording: Alive - Rufus Du Sol

* Recording Package: Carnage - Nick Cave & Tom Hingston, art directors (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis)

* Album of the Year: Donda - Kanye West, produced by Perth pair Finatik n Zac (FnZ).

The Grammys will be televised live in Australia on Channel 7 from 10am AEST on Monday, and streamed nationally on 7Plus.

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As Ukraine claimed its forces had retaken all areas around Kyiv, the mayor of a liberated town said 300 residents had been killed during a month-long occupation by the Russian army, and victims were seen in a mass grave and still lying on the streets.

Ukraine's troops have retaken more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched its invasion.

At Bucha, a town neighbouring Irpen, just 37km northwest of the capital, Reuters journalists saw bodies lying in the streets, and the hands and feet of multiple corpses poking out of a still open grave at a church ground.

After five weeks of fighting, Russia has pulled back forces that had threatened Kyiv from the north to regroup for battles in eastern Ukraine.

"The whole Kyiv region is liberated from the invader," Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Facebook. There was no Russian comment on the claim, which Reuters could not immediately verify.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned in a video address: "They are mining all this territory. Houses are mined, equipment is mined, even the bodies of dead people." He did not cite evidence.

Ukraine's emergencies service said over 1500 explosives had been found in one day during a search of the village of Dmytrivka, west of the capital.

Russia's defence ministry did not reply to a request for comment on the mining allegations. Reuters could not independently verify them.

Russia denies targeting civilians and rejects war crimes allegations.

But in Bucha, Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said more than 300 residents had been killed. Many residents tearfully recalled brushes with death and cursed the departed Russians.

Since the launch on February 24 of what President Vladimir Putin called a "special military operation" to demilitarise its neighbour, Russia has failed to capture a single major city and has instead laid siege to urban areas, uprooting one-quarter of Ukraine's population.

Ukraine's armed forces reported diminished Russian air and missile strikes, though in the early hours of Sunday a Reuters witness heard a series of explosions and saw smoke rising in the southern port city of Odesa.

Russia has depicted its drawdown of forces near Kyiv as a goodwill gesture in peace talks. Ukraine and its allies say Russia was forced to shift its focus to east Ukraine after suffering heavy losses.

Both sides described talks held this week in Istanbul and by video link as "difficult". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday the "main thing is that the talks continue, either in Istanbul or somewhere else".

A new round of talks has not yet been announced. But Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said on Saturday that enough progress had been made to allow direct talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy.

"The Russian side confirmed our thesis that the draft documents have been sufficiently developed to allow direct consultations between the two countries' leaders," Arakhamia said. Russia has not commented on the possibility.

Among those killed near Kyiv was Maksim Levin, a Ukrainian photographer and videographer who was working for a news website and was a long-time contributor to Reuters.

His body was found in a village north of Kyiv on April 1, the news website LB.ua where he worked said on Saturday.

In the east, a Red Cross convoy was again seeking to evacuate civilians from the besieged port of Mariupol after abandoning an attempt on Friday over security concerns. It was not expected to reach the city until at least Sunday. Russia blamed the ICRC for the delays.

Mariupol is Russia's main target in Ukraine's southeastern region of Donbas, and tens of thousands of civilians there are trapped with scant access to food and water.

© DPA 2022